University of Alaska president discusses issues

The University of Alaska will face serious challenges in 2014 if budget issues are not addressed, according to university President Pat Gamble.

Gamble, who spent Tuesday and Wednesday meeting with lawmakers, noted that the rising cost of maintenance and upkeep could increase exponentially in coming years if the state continues to appropriate insufficient resources toward the problem.

But Gamble says that’s not even the university’s most arduous task.

Gamble says his biggest challenge will be raising the graduation rate, which hovers around 30 percent.

The university system is shifting its concentration on preparing its students for future careers and endowing them with the critical thinking skills that the real world requires, rather than focusing on increasing its enrollment as it did during the past decade.

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About 360 North

360 North is Alaska’s public affairs channel. Part of the statewide offerings of Alaska public television, it is the most widely distributed television channel in Alaska offering a full-time schedule of Alaska programming, public affairs specials, documentaries, historical programs, Native interest shows and coverage of Alaska government.